Prevalence and prognostic significance of wall-motion abnormalities in adults without clinically recognized cardiovascular disease : The strong heart study

Left ventricular wall motion (WM) abnormalities have recognized prognostic significance in patients with coronary or other heart diseases; however, whether abnormal WM predicts adverse events in adults without overt cardiovascular disease has not been assessed. Our objective was to determine whether echocardiographic WM abnormalities predict subsequent cardiovascular events in a population-based sample. Participants (n=2864, mean age 60+/-8 years, 64% women) without clinically evident cardiovascular disease in the second Strong Heart Study examination who had complete echocardiographic WM assessment were studied. Echocardiographic assessment revealed that 5% of participants (n=140) had focal hypokinesia, and 1.5% (n=42) had WM abnormalities. Relationships between WM abnormalities and fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events (including myocardial infarction, stroke, coronary artery disease, and heart failure; n=554) and cardiovascular death (n=182) during 8+/-2 years follow-up were examined. In Cox regression, after adjustment for age, gender, waist/hip ratio, systolic blood pressure, and diabetes mellitus, segmental WM abnormalities were associated with a 2.5-fold higher risk of cardiovascular events and a 2.6-fold higher risk of cardiovascular death (both P